Outdoor illuminated signs

ABSTRACT

The outdoor illuminated sign is composed of a front transparent plate, a rear backing plate, a masking material between such plates providing opaque and transparent areas forming sign indicia, an electroluminescent lamp panel between such masking material and the back plate, and means sealing the edges of said sign against moisture entering between the plates, masking material and lamp panel and holding them together as a complete, stable, weatherproof unit.

United States Patent Finnerty, Sr. [451 Aug. 1, 1972 [54] OUTDOORILLUMINATED SIGNS 3,404,474 10/1968 Johnson ..40/ 130M Inventor: Jo n Gar Sr. et a]. ..40/l Grove Oracle" N1 07649 3,212,080 10/1965 Gunan eta1 ..40/130 M X 899,329 9/1908 Sborig: ..40/ 152 [22] Filed: April 30,1971 Primary Examiner-Robert W. Michell [21] Appl' 138304 AssistantExaminer-Richard Carter Rented A li ti m Attorney-Sylvester J. Liddy eta1. [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 845,778 July [57] ABSTRACT 29,1969, abandoned.

The outdoor illuminated sign is composed of a front 52 U.S.Cl. ..40/130Mtransparent Plate, 3 rear backing Plate, masking 51 1nt.Cl ..G09f 13/22material between such Plates Providing Paque [58] Field of Search..40/l30M 133 135 152 transparent fmming Sign indicia, 6169mm" minescentlamp panel between such masking material [56] Reerences Cited and theback plate, and means sealing the edges of said sign against moistureentering between the plates, UNITED STATES PATENTS masking material andlamp panel and holding them t lh lt,tbl, til f t. 2,716,298 8/1955Spielmann et a1. ..40/l30M erasammpe e S a e wea 3,545,110 12/1970Coolbaugh et al. ..40/130 M 13 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures PKTENTEDmc' 1I972 sum 2 or 2 4 FIG. 5

FIG. 6

FIG. 9

FIG. 7

FIG.

INVENTOR.

JOHN GERARD F/NNERTZ SR.

Arm/ems) OUTDOOR ILLUMINATED SIGNS This application is acontinuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 845,778, filed July 29,1969, and now abandoned.

This invention relates to outdoor illuminated signs and moreparticularly to an outdoor sign panel of the electroluminescent type.

The primary purpose of this invention is to provide a simple,inexpensive sign that is especially advantageous for use on the exteriorof a home, although it may be used to advantage for advertising andother purposes.

A further object of the invention is to provide a reliable outdoor signfor homes that may be included readily in the present bell and lightcircuits thereof and will be clearly and distinctly readable both duringthe day and at night.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an outdoor signfor homes that is of a sturdy, simple construction capable ofwithstanding substantial variations in temperature and atmospheremoisture contact without damage, can be readily installed at anydesirable exterior location of a home, and is very inexpensive tooperate and maintain.

Other objects as well as the advantages of the invention will appearfrom the following description when read in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of ahouse number sign embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view showing in perspective the components of thesign in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 44 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of a modified form of sign;

FIG. 6 is a rear elevational view of the sign shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line 7-7 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a partial, enlarged front elevational view of the back platein the sign of FIGS. 5-7;

FIG. 9 is a partial, enlarged rear elevational view of the lamp unit insuch sign;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along the line 10- 10 of FIG. 9; and

FIG. 1] is a sectional view showing a further modification of theinvention.

The house number sign shown in FIGS. l-4 of the drawings is composed offace plate 10 made of a suitable plastic material such as acrylite. Theface plate 10 is approximately one-sixteenth inch thick and is formedwith an opaque, preferably black frame 11, and a clear, transparentcentral portion 12. The frame 11 is about one-half inch wide and framesa sheet 15 of film that has been developed to provide transparentnumerals 16 and an opaque background 17. The sheet of film 15 may be ofany suitable type that is stable when developed and capable ofwithstanding change under the varying conditions it will be subjected toin usage as an outdoor sign. A suitable film for this purpose is 0.004or 0.007 Cronan stable base film. The front surface of the film 15directly engages the rear surface of the face plate 10 and is framed bythe black opaque border 11 of such plate so that the two present to theview of the observor a black background in which there is located insharp contrast the bold numbers 16 constituting the number of the house.

The sign is provided with a black plate 20 of any suitableweatherproof,opaque material, such as a 6- inch thick plate of black acrylic plastic,steel sheeting, etc.

Sandwiched between the film 15 and the back plate 20, is a flatelectroluminescent lamp unit 25, the rear surface of which lies indirect flat contact against the front surface of the back plate 20, andthe front surface of which lies in direct flat contact against the rearsurface of the film 15. Thus, an observer sees portions of the front ofthe lamp unit 25 in the form of the numerals 16 through the transparentnumeral portions 16 of the film and the transparent central portion 12of the face plate 10. The lamp unit 25 is a commercially availableelectroluminsecent panel essentially composed of a layer of properlyprepared phospher associated with two electrodes to which current issupplied to provide the electric field. The lamp unit 25 may be obtainedfrom companies like the General Electric Company and Sylvania ElectricCo. and, as shown, comprises two outer layers 26,27 of transparentplastic material fully sealed along their borders 28 to assureprotection to the two layers 29,30 sandwiched between such plasticlayers 26,27 from the effects of moisture and temperature change. Thelayer 29 is a thin layer of suitable electrically conductive material,such as aluminum, and has secured to its outer rear surface a bronzewire mesh lead 31 which is connected by a wire 32 to the house circuit.The wire 31 extends through an opening 33 in the back plate 20 and ispreferably covered with a weatherproof sheathing 34 which extends intosuch opening 33 and its end sealed therein by suitable waterproofsealing material 35 in FIG. 3, such as for example plastic material. Thelayer 30 is a thin layer of properly prepared phospher having along theupper edge portion of its front face, a bus bar 36 in FIG. 2 of anysuitable material such as silver and to which is connected a bronze wiremesh lead 37. A wire 38 covered with waterproof sheathing 39 connectsthe lead 37 to the house circuit. As in the case of the wire32, the wire38 extends through an opening 40 in the back plate 20 and its connectedend is sealed against weather by the seal 35.

The laminated structure composed of the face plate 10, the numbered film15, the lamp unit 25 and the back plate 20 is secured in assembledrelation by a frame 45 in FIG. 1 which is of a construction capable ofcompletely sealing all of the side edges of the laminated structureagainst weather. Thus, the frame 45 may be constituted of a suitableweatherproof tape of a known type, such as the now available acrylicplastic tape, or of rigid frame members of any suitable material, suchas treated wood, or stainless steel. If a tape is utilized for thispurpose, it is applied to the edges of the laminated structure while thecomponents thereof are held together under pressure. The tape issufficiently wide to overlie the outer edge portions of the front andback plates as indicated in FIG. 1. The tape may be used as a singlepiece and suitably folded at the corners, or used in four pieces withthe ends suitably shaped so that when assembled on the device they forma continuous frame. In FIG. 2 of the drawings, the frame is al such asstainless steel, so that such layers will be held together in clampedrelation by such frame members 45. The four frame members 45' are shapedat their ends so that when clamped in proper relation on the device theyform a substantially continuous frame, thereby sealing the edges of thelaminated structure against weather.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5-10 of the drawings the face plate ismade entirely of a clear transparent plastic material and is providedwith a thickened border 11 which serves to frame the masking material15' providing opaque and transparent areas forming the sign indiciaconstituted of the transparent numerals 16. In this embodiment, themasking material is composed of a plurality of film-like pieces 50 ofknown pressure adhesive plastic material, each of which has atransparent numeral 16 and an opaque background 17. The film-likeplastic pieces 50 are adhered to the front surface of theelectroluminescent lamp unit 25 which essentially is of the sameconstruction as the previously described unit 25. It will be understoodthat instead of the plastic pieces 50, there may be employed thepreviously described film 15. It is also within the contemplation of theinvention to use as the masking material, an opaque stencil, orstencils, or a coating of a suitable opaque material applied to thefront surface of the lamp unit so as to form the desired numerals 16through which portions of the lamp unit can be observed.

The back plate 20' in this embodiment is provided with a forwardlyprojecting thickened border 51, the front surface of which is connectedto the rear edge portion of the face plate 10 immediately in back of theborder or frame 11 formed on such face plate. Since the back plate 20'is made of an opaque material such as black acrylic plastic, thetransparent frame 11 will appear to an observer as a black frame. Thethickened border 51 of back plate 20' is welded to the rear surface ofthe face plate 10 by a narrow band 52 of suitable plastic material whichpreferably is formed from a small triangularly-shaped bead of blackacrylic plastic, the base of which is integral with the front surface ofsuch thickened border 51. It will be noted that the weld band 52 is aclosed band that extends continuously around the thickened border 51and, in the region of the two holes 53,53 extending through the two endportions of the frame 11 and border 51, includes two circular portions52 that encloses such holes 53. Thus, the weld band 52 permanentlyassembles the face plate 10' and back plate 20' together by weatherproofjoint that seals the interior of the unit against the entry of moisturebetween such plates.

The thickened border 51 causes a sealed, flat, rectangular chamber 54 tobe formed between the two plates 10 and 20, in which chamber iscontained the lamp unit and the masking material 15'. The chamber 54 hasan area which is substantially the same as those of the lamp unit 25 andmasking material 15', and has a depth which is substantially the same asthe combined thickness of such unit 25' and material 15. Thus, the lampunit 25' and masking material 15' is substantially snugly contained inthe chamber 54 with the front surface of the material 15' substantiallyflush with the front surface of the thickened border 51. As in theprevious embodiment, the lamp unit 25 is connected to the house circuitby two wires 32',38. The wires 32'38 extend into the chamber 54 throughtwo openings 33 and 40, respectively, in the back plate 20'. Theopenings 33,40 have associated therewith recesses 55,56, respectively,formed in the front surface of the back plate 20' to receive the exposedends of such wires as is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, and thereby enable thelamp unit 25 to seat properly in such chamber. It will be noted thatrecess 55 is horizontally disposed and extends inwardly from its opening33, while the recess 56 extends vertically downwardly from its opening40'. The exposed end of the wire 32 engages the rear surface of the thinlayer 29' of electrically conductive material forming the rear layer ofthe lamp unit 25. The exposed end of the wire 38' engages a contactplate 57 in FIGS. 9 and 10, overlying the rear surface of such lamp unitlayer 29'. The contact plate 57 is mounted on a piece 58 ofnon-conducting plastic sheet material and both the upper portion of suchplastic piece 58 and an extension 57' of the contact plate 57 are foldedover the upper edge of the lamp unit 25' The composite contact plate 57and non-conductive plastic piece 58 are held attached to the unit by aclip 59 made of conducting metal material; the rear leg of the clipbeing in electrical contact with the contact plate 57. On the front sideof the lamp unit, the front leg of the clip extends through an openingformed in the front coating of plastic material on such unit and intoelectrical contact with the bus bar 36, in FIG. 2, provided along thefront upper edge portion of the front layer 30 of such unit.

The inserted ends of the wires 32,38' are protected against weatherby aprojection generally designed 60 and integrally formed on the rear sideof the back plate 20. This projection is constituted of a top wall 61which extends across the tops of the two openings 33' and 40' and hasits lower surface flush with the top edges of such openings. Connectedat their upper ends to top wall 61 are two end walls 62,62 whose innersurfaces are flush with the outer side edges of the two openings.Located between the openings is a dividing wall or partition 63 which isconnected at its upper end to the'top wall 61 and the side surfaces ofwhich are flush with the inner opposed side edges of the two openings 33and 40'. The areas between the end walls 62 and the partition 63 andoverlying the two openings are spanned by two rear wall portions 64,64which conceal such openings. It will be observed thereof, that the 7wall portions 61-64 form two guideways which guide the wires directlythrough the openings 33, 40 and into the chamber 54 when the wires areinserted into such guideways. The wires are inserted into the guidewaysuntil the waterproof sheathing 34,39 covering such wires extends underthe wall portions 64. The wires are then sealed in position by amoistureproof plastic sealing material 35 so that this connection iseffectively sealed against weather. Also integrally formed on the rearside of the back plate are eight spacer members 65 of a'height'equal tothat of the projection 60 so that they cooperate with the latter inplacing the unit properly on the side wall of a house.

In assembling the above described modified form of sign, the wires arefirst inserted into the projection 60 and sealed as above described andthe exposed ends thereof inserted into the recesses 55,56 provided inthe front surface of the back plate 20'. The lamp unit 25 with themasking material 15 thereon is then inserted into the chamber 54. It isto be noted that this is a selfcontained unit for which no connectionneed be made and the mere placement of it into the chamber assures thata proper connection will be made with the house circuit. The face plateis then placed in position on the back plate with frame 11' resting onthe raised plastic bead formed on the thickened portion 51 of the backplate and from which is formed the weld joint 52. The height of thisplastic bead is relatively small, in the neighborhood of 0.02 inches.The unit is then subjected to a known ultrasonic welding operation whichcauses the plastic material of the bead to melt and flow between thesurfaces of the face and back plates to produce a uniform weld joint 52between the surfaces. These surfaces are effectively sealed by the weldjoint against the passage of any moisture therebetween thus renderingthe edges of the unit completely weatherproof. The completely sealedunit is then drilled to form the two end holes 53 through which screwsare inserted to attach it to the house. It will be noted from FIG. 6that the holes 53 are drilled so that in addition to the thickenedportions of the plates 10' and 20, they extend also through two of thespacer members 65. Thus, the attaching screws will also extend throughsuch weatherproof plastic spacers and thereby be protected against theweather.

It has also been found advantageous in constructing a stronger jointthan is possible with one weld band 52, to provide three spacedcontinuous placed beads on the front surface of the thickened portion 51of the back plate 20' so that there will be formed three spacedcontinuous weld joints 66, 66, 66, around the edge portions of the unitas is shown in FIG. 11 of the drawings. In addition to making the unitstronger, such a construction makes it unnecessary to provide holeencircling weld portions such as the weld portions 52' in FIG. 5.

While I have hereinabove described and illustrated in the drawings,preferred embodiments of my invention, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that various modifications may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit of the invention. Thus, it is withinthe contemplation of this invention to eliminate the masking material 15so that the observers view of the entire lamp unit 25 is unobstructed.It has been found that the soft subdued light of such a completely clearunit is very useful on board ships, in the passageways, on theStairways, in bunk areas, etc., thereof. it is also useful on the stepsof dimly lit nightclubs or restaurants, over cash registers, in hallwaysin institutions and at many other locations where a clear, subdued lightmight be desirable. Hence, it is intended to cover all constructions ofthe device coming within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An illuminated sign comprising a front transparent plate, a rearbacking plate, said backing plate having at least one aperture extendingtherethrough, an electrolurninescent panel adjacent to the front surfaceof said backing plate and between the latter and said front plate,indicia disposed between said electroluminescent panel and said frontplate, said indicia having opaque and transparent areas defining a sign,a pair of electric wires extending through said at least one aperture ofsaid backing plate into connection with said electroluminescent panel,said electric wires being sheathed in a weatherproof material, saidbacking plate having an means projecting rearwardly therefrom foroverlying and protecting the connected ends of said wires againstweather at their place of entry through said backing plate, and meansextending continuously around the edges of said sign for both sealingthe edges of said sign against moisture entering between said plates andholding said plates and luminescent panel in assembled relation asacomplete, stable, weatherproof unit.

2. An illuminated sign as defined in claim 1, in which the outer edgeportions of said front and backing plates are connected together by saidsealing and holding means, and within the area defined by such means areconstructed to form a chamber in which is located said electroluminousunit panel.

3. An illuminated sign as defined in claim 1, in which the outer edgeportions of said front and backing plates are constituted of plasticmaterial and the opposed surfaces thereof are welded together by saidsealing and holding means, said sealing and holding means beingconstituted of melted plastic material and being located between saidplate edge portions.

4. An illuminated sign as defined in claim 3, in which the outer edgeportions of said front and backing plates have a plurality of fasteningholes extending therethrough, and in which said sealing and holdingmeans is constituted of a continuous band of plastic material havingcircular portions enclosing said fastening holes. J

5. An illuminated sign as defined in claim 3, in which said sealing andholding material is constituted of a plurality of spaced bands ofplastic material.

6. An illuminated sign as defined in claim 1, in which said protectingmeans comprises a projection on the rear surface of said backing plateand having top, side and rear walls covering the place of entry of ssaid electric wires through said backing plate and provided on itsbottom side with an opening for the wires to said covered place ofentry.

7. An illuminated sign as defined in claim 6, in which said protectingmeans includes sealing material within said projection to hold and sealsaid wires in the same.

8. An illuminated sign as defined in claim 6, in which said backingplate is provided with two holes through which the wires extend, and inwhich said projection is provided with an interior partition betweensaid two holes and parallel to the side walls of said projection,

the inner surface of said projection top wall being substantially-flushwith the top edge portions of said holes and the inner surfaces of saidside walls and the side surfaces'of said partition being substantiallyflush with the side edge portions of said holes, whereby said top, sideand rear walls and said partition of said projection form guideways forthe wires from said opening and into said holes.

9. An illuminated sign as defined in claim 6, in which i the innersurface of said backing plate is provided with two elongated recessesextending from said place of entry for receiving the exposed ends ofsaid wires so that the latter are substantially flush with said backingplate inner surface, the rear side of said electroluminescent panelengaging the exposed wire portions in said recesses and maintaining themin position therein.

10. An illuminated sign as defined in claim 9, in which one of saidexposed wire ends is electrically connected to the rear surface of saidluminescent panel, and in which said luminescent panel is provided onits rear surface with a contact plate in engagement with the other ofsaid exposed wire ends, means for insulating said contact plate from therear surface of said luminescent panel, and means supporting saidcontact plate on said luminescent panel and electrically connecting itto a bus bar provided on the front of said luminescent panel.

1 1. An illuminated sign as defined in claim 6, including a plurality ofspacer members projecting from the rear surface of said backing plateand each having a depth equal to the depth of said projection.

12. An illuminated sign as defined in claim 11, in which the outer edgeportions of said front and backing plates have two fastening holesextending therethrough and through two of said spacer members, theouters of said spacer members being solid.

13. An illuminated sign as defined in claim 1, wherein said indiciacomprises a masking material between said electroluminescent panel andsaid front plate providing opaque and transparent areas forming signindicia, said masking material being composed of a plurality of piecesof pressure adhesive plastic film material, each of said pieces beingadhered to the front surface of said electroluminescent panel and havingan opaque background and a transparent area forming a portion of thesign indicia.

1. An illuminated sign comprising a front transparent plate, a rearbacking plate, said backing plate having at least one aperture extendingtherethrough, an electroluminescent panel adjacent to the front surfaceof said backing plate and between the latter and said front plate,indicia disposed between said electroluminescent panel and said frontplate, said indicia having opaque and transparent areas defining a sign,a pair of electric wires extending through said at least one aperture ofsaid backing plate into connection with said electroluminescent panel,said electric wires being sheathed in a weatherproof material, saidbacking plate having an means projecting rearwardly therefrom foroverlying and protecting the connected ends of said wires againstweather at their place of entry through said backing plate, and meansextending continuously around the edges of said sign for both sealingthe edges of said sign against moisture entering between said plates andholding said plates and luminescent panel in assembled relation as acomplete, stable, weatherproof unit.
 2. An illuminated sign as definedin claim 1, in which the outer edge portions of said front and backingplates are connected together by said sealing and holding means, andwithin the area defined by such means are constructed to form a chamberin which is located said electroluminous unit panel.
 3. An illuminatedsign as defined in claim 1, in which the outer edge portions of saidfront and backing plates are constituted of plastic material and theopposed surfaces thereof are welded together by said sealing and holdingmeans, said sealing and holding means being constituted of meltedplastic material and being located between said plate edge portions. 4.An illuminated sign as defined in claim 3, in which the outer edgeportions of said front and backing plates have a plurality of fasteningholes extending therethrough, and in which said seAling and holdingmeans is constituted of a continuous band of plastic material havingcircular portions enclosing said fastening holes.
 5. An illuminated signas defined in claim 3, in which said sealing and holding material isconstituted of a plurality of spaced bands of plastic material.
 6. Anilluminated sign as defined in claim 1, in which said protecting meanscomprises a projection on the rear surface of said backing plate andhaving top, side and rear walls covering the place of entry of s saidelectric wires through said backing plate and provided on its bottomside with an opening for the wires to said covered place of entry.
 7. Anilluminated sign as defined in claim 6, in which said protecting meansincludes sealing material within said projection to hold and seal saidwires in the same.
 8. An illuminated sign as defined in claim 6, inwhich said backing plate is provided with two holes through which thewires extend, and in which said projection is provided with an interiorpartition between said two holes and parallel to the side walls of saidprojection, the inner surface of said projection top wall beingsubstantially flush with the top edge portions of said holes and theinner surfaces of said side walls and the side surfaces of saidpartition being substantially flush with the side edge portions of saidholes, whereby said top, side and rear walls and said partition of saidprojection form guideways for the wires from said opening and into saidholes.
 9. An illuminated sign as defined in claim 6, in which the innersurface of said backing plate is provided with two elongated recessesextending from said place of entry for receiving the exposed ends ofsaid wires so that the latter are substantially flush with said backingplate inner surface, the rear side of said electroluminescent panelengaging the exposed wire portions in said recesses and maintaining themin position therein.
 10. An illuminated sign as defined in claim 9, inwhich one of said exposed wire ends is electrically connected to therear surface of said luminescent panel, and in which said luminescentpanel is provided on its rear surface with a contact plate in engagementwith the other of said exposed wire ends, means for insulating saidcontact plate from the rear surface of said luminescent panel, and meanssupporting said contact plate on said luminescent panel and electricallyconnecting it to a bus bar provided on the front of said luminescentpanel.
 11. An illuminated sign as defined in claim 6, including aplurality of spacer members projecting from the rear surface of saidbacking plate and each having a depth equal to the depth of saidprojection.
 12. An illuminated sign as defined in claim 11, in which theouter edge portions of said front and backing plates have two fasteningholes extending therethrough and through two of said spacer members, theouters of said spacer members being solid.
 13. An illuminated sign asdefined in claim 1, wherein said indicia comprises a masking materialbetween said electroluminescent panel and said front plate providingopaque and transparent areas forming sign indicia, said masking materialbeing composed of a plurality of pieces of pressure adhesive plasticfilm material, each of said pieces being adhered to the front surface ofsaid electroluminescent panel and having an opaque background and atransparent area forming a portion of the sign indicia.